Chisholm musher Nathan Schroeder continued to run in 15th place in Alaska's Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Monday.
Schroeder left the Unalakleet checkpoint on the Bering Sea coast at 1:40 p.m. Alaska time Monday, according to the race website. Next up: the village of Shaktoolik, 40 miles away and 758 miles into the 979-mile race from Fairbanks to Nome.
Schroeder, a three-time John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon champion, left Unalakleet with just nine dogs of his original 16-dog team. Mushers must have at least six dogs pulling their sled at the finish.
He finished 17th in last year’s Iditarod - his first - which was good enough to earn him rookie-of-the-year honors.
There was a close battle for the lead of the 2015 race on Monday, with defending champion Dallas Seavey of Willow, Alaska, the first to reach the Koyuk checkpoint -- 50 miles past Shaktoolik -- at 12:34 p.m. Iditarod veteran Aaron Burmeister of Nome - who has finished as high as fourth place, in 2012 - was just three minutes behind Seavey.
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Aliy Zirkle of Two Rivers, Alaska, runner-up in the past three Iditarods, was third to reach Koyuk, at 3:18 p.m. Monday.
Seventy-one of the 78 mushers who started the race remained on the trail Monday.
